Quicken is a personal finance management tool developed by Intuit, Inc.
Different versions of Quicken run on Windows and Macintosh systems. Previous
versions ran on DOS. There are several versions of Quicken for Windows,
including Quicken Starter, Quicken Deluxe, Quicken Rental Property Manager,
Quicken Premier, and Quicken Home & Business, as well as Quicken for Mac.
Since 2008, each version has tended to have the release year in the product
name; before then, versions were numbered.
Quicken's major marketplace is North America, and most of the software sold
is specialized for the United States and Canadian marketplace and user base. But
the core functions can often be used more widely, regardless of country; and
versions have been tailored for a variety of marketplaces, including
Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and
Singapore. Development of the UK-specific version of Quicken was
stopped in January 2005, with sales and support ending shortly afterwards. There
were also versions for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Denmark, Ecuador, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Uruguay, and Venezuela. Related products
The Quicken brand has been extended to other personal and household areas,
including healthcare. Quicken Health Expense Tracker is a free online tool
for healthcare consumers enrolled in participating health plans. Users can
"manage and direct their health care finances, view and organize medical
expenses, payments and service histories, and download and organize
personal health claims data." The Quicken Medical Expense Manager is a
desktop software tool for managing healthcare paperwork, tracking claims
and payments, and consolidating related information.
Quicken Kids & Money was a Web-based program that aimed to help parents teach
five- to eight-year-old children how to earn, spend, save, and share money. It
is defunct. Other products are aimed at home
business and seem to fit in a space for a less formal business than would be
using QuickBooks. Quicken Rental Property Manager is a desktop software
tool for managing rental properties; tracking tenants, expenses, and
payments; and producing tax reports. Software as a service
Quicken Online was a free, hosted solution by Intuit. Intuit hosted all of
the user's data, and provided patches and regularly upgraded the software
automatically. Initially this was launched as a monthly paid subscription,
and was a free service for over a year. During the year that it was free, it
acquired over 1.5 million customers. It was discontinued on August 29, 2010, and
users were encouraged to transition to Mint.com.
Intuit completed the acquisition of competitor Mint.com on November 2, 2009,
and has announced that it will be transitioning users to that service from
Quicken Online. Editions
The following are current and retired versions of Quicken.
= Current= Selling
Quicken 2016 for Mac Quicken 2016 for Windows
Supported Starter Edition 2014
Deluxe 2014 Premier 2014
Home & Business 2014 Rental Property Manager 2014
Starter Edition 2013 Deluxe 2013
Premier 2013 Home & Business 2013
Rental Property Manager 2013 Starter Edition 2012 - retiring Apr 30,
2015 Deluxe 2012 - retiring Apr 30, 2015
Premier 2012 - retiring Apr 30, 2015 Home & Business 2012 - retiring Apr 30,
2015 Rental Property Manager 2012 - retiring
Apr 30, 2015 Quicken Essentials for Mac - retiring
Apr 30, 2015 Quicken Mac 2007 OS X Lion compatible
Quicken for Mac 2007 - retired Apr, 2012?
Quicken for Mac 2006 Quicken for Mac 2005 - retiring Apr 30,
2015 = Retired=
(Dates retired are shown.) Starter, Deluxe, Premier, Home &
Business, Rental Property Manager 2012 - To be expired Apr 30, 2015
Starter, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business Edition 2011 - April 30, 2014
Starter, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business, Rental Property Manager 2010
Starter, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business 2009 - April 30, 2012
Basic, Premier, Deluxe 2008 – April 27, 2011
Home & Business 2007 Basic, Premier, Deluxe 2007 – April 30,
2010 2006 – April 30, 2009
2005 – April 30, 2008 2004 – April 30, 2007
2003 – April 25, 2006 2002 – April 19, 2005
2001 – April 19, 2005 2000 – May 18, 2004
98 and 99 – April 20, 2004 Version 6 for Windows. "Designed for
Windows 95. Release 6.0. 1996" Version 3 for Windows 3.1
Criticism Quicken contains a sunset provision that
stops online features and any QFX formatted files from working after a
certain amount of time, requiring users to first buy a new Quicken license, and
then to learn a new, often different interface from the more recent Quicken
version. Intuit stopped supporting its Quicken
software in the United Kingdom in 2005 leaving many thousands of users with
only partly functional software. In 2008 and 2009, Quicken users reported
an unusually large number of software bugs for a commercial product. A review
of Quicken 2010 suggests that quality and user interface in that product year
is dramatically improved. Existing Quicken Online users' data is
not transferable/importable into Mint.com. This is in direct contrast to
VP Aaron Patzer's promise, made on April 27, 2010: "[Until the merger with
Mint.com is complete], you can continue to use Quicken Online just like you
have. Once we have completed integrating all features to Mint, you will be able
to easily transfer your information and data to ensure the smoothest transition
possible." Quicken for the Mac lacks some of the
features of the Windows version. To migrate to Lion, users must pay $15
for an updated version of Quicken 2007. It has no new features. (The only way to
obtain this version now is to contact Intuit Support directly, via chat only,
here: https:quicken.custhelp.comcontactmac
Many features of Quicken 2007 for Lion do not work, and Intuit's support is
limited.. No common file format used for Windows
and Mac History of Quicken and the absence of a
common cross-platform file format Quicken uses a database file structure.
Since Quicken started on MS-DOS and the Apple II back in 1983, the database
structure of choice did not exist for the Macintosh, nor has there really been
a good common database structure developed that was cross-platform
compatible created in the early days. So, when Mac development started, it had
to take an independent path, and the DOS version transitioned onto Windows.
Then when Mac OS X came out in 1999 and 2001, a new platform emerged. Apple
developed backward compatibility for OS 9, so Quicken for Mac development
continued in an older platform database structure. Apple continued to support
PowerPC-based apps onto their Intel-based Macs in Aug. 2009. Rosetta
was a temporary measure to support the eventual transition to Intel-Only based
Macs). In 2009, faced with the eventual
retirement of the PowerPC, it was deemed that the structure for Quicken for Mac
was not suited for the direction of the Mac and OS X. Though they got Quicken
for Mac 2007 to run on Intel in 2012, Intuit decided to start from scratch and
Quicken Essentials for Mac was created in 2010. Quicken 2015 for Mac, released
in August 2014, and later versions for Mac are built on that new creation.
See also Comparison of accounting software
References External links
Official website